SJM Theodore Racing clinch last gap win in Misano!
Round 6 - MISANO Race Two
Misano, Italy 7th November
Asian motorsports team SJM Theodore Racing have won the 12th and final race in the Lamborghini Super Trofeo Asia series after a dramatic conclusion to the championship in Misano.
Starting the last lap less than a second in arrears of the leader, Jonathan Cecotto, Alex Denning stalked his rival through the twists and turns of the 4.2km circuit on Italy's Adriatic coast and made the winning move with just over a minute left in the 50-minute race.
With team-mate Charles Leong, Team Principal Teddy Yip Junior and the rest of the SJM Theodore crew cheering from the pitwall, Denning took the chequered flag to scenes of wild delight to close out a dominant season in the Lamborghini Super Trofeo Asia series which produced an amazing eight wins and four second place finishes from 12 races.
It also neatly bookended the Asian championship which began with two races wins in Sydney last April and has concluded in Europe with another two visits to the top step of the podium.
The bedrock of the victory was again a superbly swift and disciplined early stint by Charles Leong. The Macau driver initially maintained his grid position of fourth in the early stages before moving into third place. As the lead duo engaged in a tight battle for the lead, Leong once again played the long game, carefully managing tyre in the 620BHP Lamborghini Huracán Evo 2 and staying within three seconds of the second placed driver all the way to the compulsory pit stop just after the half way point.
As the cars reshuffled after the pitstops, Alex Denning slotted into second place and converted that into the lead within two laps. The 216 machine driven by Cecotto followed him through into second and the two engaged in a titanic tussle throughout the final 15-minutes of the Asian season.
Cecotto found a way past and opened up a two-second advantage over Denning who calmly reset by taking a few minutes to cool and renew grip levels in the tyres before redoubling his efforts to challenge for a late race pass. Making the most of their encounters with lapped cars, Denning steadily closed the gap in the final three laps and was within a second as they began the final tour.
His last gasp lunge was perfectly executed and he just about had enough in hand to prevent a final response from his rival in the run to the flag to take a famous win and end the Asian season on a high.
As well as the teams championship which was decided in the favour of SJM Theodore at the last round in Malaysia, the squad Leong and Denning can now bask in the glory of the drivers title. No other driver could take the spoils going into this final event and, having shared the car at the final event as in every race this season, they will share the driver title honours of Lamborghini Super Trofeo Asia series 2025.
There's no time to celebrate, however, as the team will be back on track tomorrow for qualifying and the first of two races in the Lamborghini Super Trofeo World Finals against the cream of Lamborghini sportscar talent from North the America and Europe series.
Charles Leong: "I’m very proud of the team overall this year. It’s eight out of twelve wins. I couldn’t ask for more. Overall pace we’re a very good pairing. Everyone is very consistent over the year. It’s a mega job for everyone who puts everything together and no mechanical failure all year as well. It’s a very special package that we put together.”
Alex Denning: "I might have even made Charles excited for once! If that doesn’t make you excited I don’t know what will! Hats off to this guy here, he saved the tyres through his stint. We started on old tyres so I give this one up to Charles, well done.
"I came out of the pits, the pace seemed fairly OK, and then just getting through traffic and battling as well tended to overheat the rear tyres.
"To be fair, Cecotto rolled off the brakes and gave me an offer I couldn’t refuse other than turn out of the corner, so hats off to him it was a nice move. The pace just really came to me then, I looked after managing tyre temperatures, catching after him, trying to get in his mirrors and his head as I can. And on that last lap, Hakkinen and Schumacher was playing through my mind.”
Teddy Yip Jr., Team Principal – SJM Theodore Racing:-
“That's just an exceptional way to finish the Asian series and I want to congratulate Charles and Alex on a perfectly professional and ultimately thrilling final race in the championship.
"Honestly, I think we could have celebrated a second place finish heading into the final few minutes but Alex was laser focused on the win and, to his credit, delivered a coup de grace for the ages on that last lap of the Asian season.
"The confidence and focus displayed by all the team has been exceptional throughout the year and the drivers, management all in the engineering group are poring over the data to unlock the final scraps of potential to ensure we can challenge in the World Finals.
"It's been a great year and we're going to push to finish it on a high."
In a hectic final week of Lamborghini racing, the team faced four separate races during the event with the final two races in the Lamborghini Super Trofeo Asia Series (LSTA) followed by two World Finals races on Saturday and Sunday against opposition from around the globe.
Having scooped the teams' title one round early at Sepang, Malaysia last month, team drivers Charles Leong and Alex Denning are level on points at the top of the Lamborghini Asia driver's championship and now share the series spoils after Thusday and Friday's final races in the Asia series.
They will now turn their attention to the two races which make up the World Finals with both drivers relishing an opportunity to test themselves against the cream of Lamborghini Super Trofeo teams from the three different continental championships.
Sunday's second and final World Finals race is just the end of part one of a huge fortnight for Charles Leong and SJM Theodore Racing. At the conclusion of his Italian adventure Leong will head with other key team personnel to his native Macau where he is part of the three-car team line up in the Formula Regional World Cup at the 72nd Macau Grand Prix.
Race Format
As always, the race format includes two 50-minute races with a mandatory driver change, following Tuesday practice and Wednesday qualifying, Race 1 gets underway on Thursday morning, with Race 2 on Friday afternoon.
After the LSTA concludes attention turns to the Lamborghini Super Trofeo World Finals event with qualifying and Race 1 on Saturday morning followed by Race 2 on Sunday where SJM Theodore Racing will continue to fly the flag for Macau on the international stage.
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TEAM BACKGROUND & LSTA SERIES DETAILS:
SJM Resorts, S.A.’s (SJM) support of Theodore Racing stems from a shared vision to elevate Macau’s standing as an international motorsport destination. As the owner-operator of a prestigious portfolio of hospitality assets—including the iconic Grand Lisboa Palace Resort, THE KARL LAGERFELD MACAU, and Palazzo Versace Macau—SJM has long embraced motorsport as a platform to project the city’s unique cultural identity and global appeal.
Celebrated as the first and only Chinese team to enter Formula 1, multiple Macau Grand Prix winners SJM Theodore Racing is looking to continue its excellent run in its second season in LSTA with its two talented young drivers behind the wheel of their Lamborghini Huracán Super Trofeo EVO2.
Supported by long-time partner, Macau-based integrated resorts operator SJM Resorts, S.A., SJM Theodore Racing heads to the sixth round of the championship next week where they will contest the final two races of the LSTA season as well as the Lamborghini Super Trofeo World Finals at Misano, Italy.
The Theodore team and SJM have supported home-grown talent Charles Leong since 2021, when he took his second Formula 4 Macau Grand Prix title on his home Guia street circuit. In 2023 he finished a close second to team mate Arvid Lindblad in the Macau Grand Prix F4 showcase, completing a triumphant SJM Theodore PREMA Racing one-two finish.
In 2017, at the age of just 15, Leong won the both the Asian Formula Renault and Chinese F4 championship titles, going on to make his Formula 3 debut in both Europe and Asia the following year. Having honed his racecraft via open-wheel competition, more recently Leong has proven his versatility by successfully turning his talents to sportscar competition.
Team mate Denning, meanwhile, began his career in karting before switching to cars in a championship winning assault on the Ford Fiesta ST series in his native Ireland. In 2022, Denning was runner up and Rookie Championship winner in the British Mini Challenge JCW with 10 podium finishes and seven victories and in the last two seasons has recorded podium winning performances in the GT4 European Series at the wheel of a McLaren Artura GT4.
The six-round, 12-race LSTA season concludes in Italy at Misano from November 06-07, venue of both the final LSTA round of the year and the annual Lamborghini Super Trofeo World Finals, a season-closing showdown between Super Trofeo competitors from the European, North American and Asian series.
Each LSTA round includes two, 50-minute races, each with a driver change, and championship points are awarded to the top ten finishers on a scale of 15 points for the winner for each of the PRO, PRO-AM, AM and Lamborghini Cup titles.
The entry of Leong and Denning continues Theodore Racing’s long tradition of nurturing motorsport talent, which has included support of China’s first Formula 1 driver Zhou Guanyu.
Founded in the 1970s by Macau business tycoon and passionate motorsport competitor and supporter Teddy Yip, Theodore Racing entered myriad championships and racing series spanning the globe, including Formula 1, the Indianapolis 500, Formula 5000, Formula 2, Formula Atlantic and Can-Am.
Over the years, many of the greatest names in motorsport raced for the team, and its victory in the first-ever Formula 3 Macau Grand Prix with Ayrton Senna in 1983 has become part of motorsport folklore.
In 2008, Yip’s son, Teddy Junior resurrected the legendary name, initially with Status GP.
Thirty years after the team’s landmark Senna win at Macau, Theodore Racing returned to the streets of the city in partnership with PREMA Racing to take the first of what has become a long list of Formula 3 Macau Grand Prix victories.
SJM Theodore PREMA Racing returns for the 72nd edition of the Macau Grand Prix in November 2025 where the team will be reresented by Chales Leong, Freddie Slater and Rashid Al Dhaheri.
About SJM Resorts S.A.
SJM Resorts, S.A. (SJM), a premier integrated tourism and leisure enterprise in Macau, owns and manages a distinguished portfolio of iconic hotels under the Lisboa brand, including the Grand Lisboa Palace Resort, THE KARL LAGERFELD MACAU, and Palazzo Versace Macau. Intricately linked with motorsports since the 1970s, SJM solidified this connection in 2013 through a long-term title partnership with the Theodore Racing Team for the esteemed Macau Grand Prix. Over the years, SJM has been instrumental in propelling the team to numerous championship victories at this pivotal event, often regarded as the team’s spiritual home. Continuing its commitment, SJM fully supports the Theodore Racing Team as they compete internationally, proudly representing Macau on the global stage.
